Farewell to Clem Burke

Clem Burke was not just a drummer, he was the heartbeat of Blondie.

This is how the moving message posted by Blondie on their social media channels begins, in which Debbie Harry and co. announced the passing of Clem Burke, the band's longtime drummer, who at 70 lost his private battle with cancer. The news came as a complete shock, catching fans and industry insiders totally off guard: nothing had previously leaked about his illness, and in his last live performances, Clem had appeared as energetic as ever, showing off the wild, spectacular style that had made him the most worthy heir to his idol Keith Moon.

From the frenzied drumming of “Dreaming” to the more elaborate work on “Heart Of Glass“, Clem Burke truly was the beating heart of Blondie: a drummer capable of following and interpreting every creative nuance of Debbie Harry and Chris Stein, giving sonic shape to their ideas. Musically, he was something of a trait d'union between Hal Blaine and the aforementioned Keith Moon. In the early days his energy was so overwhelming it was almost impossible to contain — producer Mike Chapman has often recounted how hard it was to rein him in, since he always tended to want the drums front and center — but over time Clem also learned the art of restraint. His initial skepticism toward a disco track like “Heart Of Glass“ is telling: to convince himself to play it, he had to listen to the soundtrack of “Saturday Night Fever“ over and over. The rest, as they say, is history. Just listen again to the percussive coda of the “Heart Of Glass” version included on the 1981 “Best Of” — now widely regarded as the definitive version — to feel genuine joy while listening. Whether it was punk, funk, disco, reggae or even doo-wop, it made no difference to him: his drumming always managed to carve out a starring role.

He was a musician long unfairly underrated, overshadowed by media attention that, at the time, was entirely focused on Debbie Harry. Yet Clem Burke's importance within Blondie was evident right from the debut single, “X Offender“: his drums burst in even before Debbie's voice, defining the track's identity just as much as the distinctive Farfisa organ played by keyboardist Jimmy Destri. Some of the band's early hits, like “In The Flesh” and “Denis“, bear his unmistakable stamp, just as it's hard to imagine “Call Me” without that opening drum roll of his. He was, after all, by far the most sought-after drummer on the CBGB scene and one of the most respected in the entire punk and new wave movement. Among his peers, he counted some unlikely admirers, including Nick Mason of Pink Floyd, Nicko McBrain of Iron Maiden and Dale Crover of Melvins, while entire generations of drummers learned to play by listening to Blondie's early albums. Among them is Jimmy Chamberlin of Smashing Pumpkins, who paid warm tribute to him: “A huge loss for our brotherhood of drummers. He was a massive source of inspiration for me. I spent so much time playing along to 'Dreaming'...”.

The rest of his career speaks for itself: Burke collaborated and played with artists of the caliber of Pete Townshend, Bob Dylan, Iggy Pop, Joan Jett, Bob Geldof and Eurythmics during their peak years, becoming one of the most in-demand session players of the Eighties. For a handful of shows he even took the stage with his longtime friends the Ramones, under the alias Elvis Ramone. More recently, Rolling Stone ranked him among the greatest drummers of all time, while 2018 saw the release of “My View: Clem Burke”, a BBC-produced autobiographical documentary. His dedication to drumming was total, to the point that he personally took part in a series of university studies investigating the physical and mental benefits of playing drums — research that earned him an honorary doctorate from the University of Gloucestershire in 2011. More recently still, he championed an official initiative to include drumming in national support programs for autistic children, after a study found that even just 90 minutes of weekly practice could bring significant improvements to their quality of life.

Clem was known as the most upbeat and sunny member of the New York band: always in good spirits, friendly with everyone and ready to lend a hand, he radiated a contagious enthusiasm. Without his optimistic spirit, Blondie probably would never have gotten off the ground. He was in fact instrumental in convincing Debbie not to walk away from the project in 1975, when the departures of Ivan Král and Fred Smith — who left for the Patti Smith Group and Television respectively — left the platinum-haired vocalist disheartened and on the verge of quitting altogether. It was Clem Burke who talked her out of it, later suggesting that his childhood friend Gary Valentine come in as the new bassist. His gift for mediation proved just as valuable twenty years later, when, toward the end of the Nineties, he managed to mend the relationships among the band members, paving the way for Blondie's surprising reunion and their return to international success with "Maria".

Clem Burke was also always noted for his impeccable style, a perfect balance between British elegance and the rougher, more urban attitude typical of New York's streets. "He was always the coolest guy in the room", everyone who ever met him or even just crossed paths with him keeps repeating in unison. And it's no exaggeration to say his look was almost as important as Debbie Harry's in defining Blondie's visual identity, blending sixties Mod style with nods to Pop Art. Inspired by England's Dr. Feelgood, Clem was in fact the first musician on the scene surrounding CBGB's to cut his hair short in the mid-Seventies, a gesture soon imitated by many others and one that effectively marked a turning point: the symbolic passage from the rock of the past to the punk wave that was about to sweep everything away.

One of the qualities that most defined Clem was his authentic, all-consuming passion for rock music, bordering on fanaticism: he knew every story and every bit of behind-the-scenes lore about the genre, owned an impressive collection of vinyl and music magazines, and seemed to have a life that revolved entirely around music. He was born to be a rock star and, as he repeated in every interview, could never have done anything else with his life. As time went by, that dedication never wavered: even at seventy he kept the spirit of a kid living out his own dream, seemingly immune to the anxieties and personal struggles that had deeply marked other members of Blondie. Chris Stein affectionately nicknamed him "Dr. Burke", owing to his encyclopedic knowledge of rock history, worthy of a university professor. Clem was one of the greatest Beatles fans on the face of the Earth, but he also adored the Who, the Kinks, the Rolling Stones and, more broadly, all the protagonists of the British Invasion he grew up with. He once said he joined Blondie because he was looking for what, to him, would become his own Jim Morrison, David Bowie or Mick Jagger. He evidently found that "someone" in Debbie Harry.

Tributes and memories have been flooding social media in these hours, and it's genuinely hard to keep up with them all. But they clearly show just how capable Clem Burke was of bringing together musicians of different genres and generations, and how widely loved and respected he was by colleagues and friends alike. Among the most heartfelt tributes are those from some of his fellow travelers on the great new wave journey, starting with Jerry Casale of Devo, who pointed out that "his unmatched style and quintessentially New York charisma set a performance standard that lasted decades", while Hugh Cornwell, former frontman of the Stranglers, remembered him fondly: "He would rather have played drums than done anything else in the world, apart from maybe collecting Beatles memorabilia, of course". Ian McCulloch of Echo & the Bunnymen wrote: "He was my favorite drummer of the punk and new wave scene, he helped invent a style. The sound of his drums, especially on those incredible Blondie albums, was special and perfect, just like Blondie's songs. He was the Charlie Watts of his generation".

John Doe of X also paid tribute to him, calling him "the most elegant and powerful drummer, who proved just how great a punk rock drum kit could sound". Dave Stewart, who fought hard to bring him into Eurythmics during the making of their fifth album, "Revenge", joked that "Clem just wanted to play. I'm sure he literally dreamed about playing drums even while he slept — and he really was a dream drummer to share a stage with. During live shows his performances were so explosive I found it hard to take my eyes off him. If he could have, he would have played every single night with all his favorite bands". For Nick Rhodes of Duran Duran, Clem was "truly one of a kind and one of the greatest drummers in one of the greatest bands of his generation. A truly special person, full of positive energy". John Taylor echoed the sentiment, visibly moved, admitting he had rarely felt so saddened by the passing of a musician.

One of his childhood idols, Dave Davies of the Kinks, called him "a spectacular drummer", while Ronnie Wood and the Who themselves also paid tribute. His special bond with the British scene is underscored too by the words of other guitarists such as Johnny Marr (ex-Smiths), who hailed him as "one of the greats of music", and Graham Coxon of Blur, for whom he was "a wonderful guy, one of the best in this daft business". Nancy Sinatra admitted she is "heartbroken", and she wasn't the only one: many other female rockers wanted to remember him, from Joan Jett to Kate Pierson of the B-52's ("The music world has lost one of its greatest drummers. And we've lost a dear friend"), from Belinda Carlisle to Kathy Valentine of the Go-Go's ("My best friend. My brother. My constant amid every variable in my life"), all the way to Debbi Peterson of the Bangles. Even Shirley Manson of Garbage ("I think we all somehow believed you'd live forever") and Skin of Skunk Anansie shared heartfelt posts on Instagram. Other heartfelt tributes came from Nile Rodgers ("It was an honor to play with you, my friend"), Chris Frantz and Jerry Harrison of Talking Heads, Tim Burgess of the Charlatans ("Clem Burke was the epitome of the super cool drummer — so influential and such a lovely person"), Alex Kapranos of Franz Ferdinand ("He provided the rhythm to so many years of my life"), Billy Idol, Bryan Adams, the Dead Kennedys, the Dandy Warhols, Spandau Ballet and many other artists and bands.

And now, what will become of Blondie, left without one of their three surviving founding members? Of the original lineup, only Debbie Harry and Chris Stein remain, and the latter hasn't performed live for years due to his unfortunately precarious health. It's difficult, almost impossible, to picture the New York band without their tireless drummer, the undisputed star of every live show. His last live performance was last summer, at a festival in Northern Ireland. Already last year the band had canceled the dates scheduled for the second half of 2024, and today the suspicion that this was due to his worsening health seems to be confirmed.

A new Blondie album has been long awaited (the last one, "Pollinator", dates back to 2017), announced several times and then postponed. According to the news that has leaked so far, Clem's drum parts had already been recorded. So all we can do now is picture him still there, in his spot, behind the kit. Always in motion, tireless, twirling his sticks, tossing them in the air and catching them again, ready to launch into another drum solo. And wearing, of course, a CBGB t-shirt.

Power, passion plays a double hand

Union, Union, Union City man

("Union City Blue")

Ride the wave of great music

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